List of governors of California

The governor of California is the head of government of California, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current governor is Gavin Newsom, who has been in office since 2019. 39 people have served as governor, over 40 distinct terms. Many have been influential nationwide in areas far-flung from state politics. Leland Stanford founded Stanford University in 1891. Earl Warren, later chief justice of the United States, won an election with the nominations of the three major parties – the only person to run essentially unopposed for governor of California. Ronald Reagan, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild and later president of the United States, and Arnold Schwarzenegger both came to prominence through acting. Gray Davis, the 37th governor of California, was the second governor in American history to be recalled by voters. The shortest tenure was that of Milton Latham, who served only five days before being elected to fill a vacant United States Senate seat. The longest tenure is that of Jerry Brown, who served as governor from 1975 to 1983 and again from 2011 to 2019, the only governor to serve non-consecutive terms. He is the son of former governor Pat Brown who served from 1959 to 1967.

List of governors

California was obtained by the United States in the Mexican Cession following the Mexican–American War. Unlike most other states, it was never organized as a territory and was admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850. The original California Constitution of 1849 called for elections every two years, with no set start date for the term. An amendment ratified in 1862 increased the term to four years. The 1879 constitution set the term to begin on the first Monday after January 1, following an election. In 1990, Proposition 140 led to a constitutional amendment implementing a term limit of two terms.CA Const. art. V, § 2

Prior to this limit, only one governor, Earl Warren, served more than two terms. Jerry Brown was elected to a third term in 2010, and then to a fourth and final term in 2014, because his previous terms were before the term limit was enacted. The 1849 constitution created the office of lieutenant governor, who, in cases of vacancy in the office of governor, becomes governor.CA Const. art. V, § 10 The governor and the lieutenant governor are not formally elected on the same ticket.

+ Governors of the State of CaliforniaGovernorTerm in officePartyElectionLt. Governor1 Peter Hardeman BurnettDecember 20, 1849Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 1849–1850 sess., 20, accessed August 1, 2023–January 9, 1851Nonpartisan1849 2John McDougalJanuary 9, 1851Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 1851 sess., 43–47, accessed August 1, 2023–January 8, 1852Nonpartisan3John BiglerJanuary 8, 1852Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1852 sess., 27, accessed August 1, 2023–January 9, 1856Democratic185118534J. Neely JohnsonJanuary 9, 1856Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1856 sess., 82, accessed August 1, 2023–January 8, 1858American18555John B. WellerJanuary 8, 1858Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1858 sess., 71, accessed August 1, 2023–January 9, 1860Democratic18576Milton S. LathamJanuary 9, 1860Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1860 sess., 106, accessed August 1, 2023–January 14, 1860LecomptonDemocratic18597John G. DowneyJanuary 14, 1860Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1860 sess., 153, accessed August 1, 2023–January 10, 1862LecomptonDemocratic8Leland StanfordJanuary 10, 1862Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1862 sess., 97–98, accessed August 1, 2023– December 10, 1863Republican18619Frederick LowDecember 10, 1863Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1863–1864 sess., 93, accessed August 1, 2023–December 5, 1867Union186310Henry Huntly HaightDecember 5, 1867Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1867–1868 sess., 91, accessed August 1, 2023–December 8, 1871Democratic186711Newton BoothDecember 8, 1871Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1871–1872 sess., 119, accessed August 1, 2023–February 27, 1875Republican187112Romualdo PachecoFebruary 27, 1875–December 9, 1875Republican13William IrwinDecember 9, 1875Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1875–1876 sess., 19, accessed August 1, 2023–January 8, 1880Democratic187514George C. PerkinsJanuary 8, 1880Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1880 sess., 31, accessed August 1, 2023–January 10, 1883Republican187915George StonemanJanuary 10, 1883Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1883 sess., 15, accessed August 1, 2023–January 8, 1887Democratic188216Washington BartlettJanuary 8, 1887Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1887 sess., 39, accessed August 1, 2023–September 12, 1887Democratic188617Robert WatermanSeptember 12, 1887–January 8, 1891Republican18Henry MarkhamJanuary 8, 1891Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1891 sess., 44, accessed August 1, 2023–January 11, 1895Republican189019James BuddJanuary 11, 1895Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1895 sess., 32, accessed August 1, 2023–January 4, 1899Democratic1894Vacant20Henry T. GageJanuary 4, 1899Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1899 sess., 45, accessed August 1, 2023–January 7, 1903Republican189821George PardeeJanuary 7, 1903Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1903 sess., 69, accessed August 1, 2023–January 9, 1907Republican190222James GillettJanuary 9, 1907Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1907 sess., 34, accessed August 1, 2023–January 3, 1911Republican190623Hiram JohnsonJanuary 3, 1911Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1911 sess., 53, accessed August 1, 2023–March 15, 1917Republican1910Progressive1914Vacant24William StephensMarch 15, 1917–January 9, 1923RepublicanVacant191825Friend RichardsonJanuary 9, 1923Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1923 sess., 97, accessed August 1, 2023–January 4, 1927Republican192226C. C. YoungJanuary 4, 1927Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1927 sess., 60, accessed August 1, 2023–January 6, 1931Republican1926Vacant27James RolphJanuary 6, 1931Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1931 sess., 176, accessed August 1, 2023–June 2, 1934Republican193028Frank MerriamJune 2, 1934–January 2, 1939RepublicanVacant193429Culbert OlsonJanuary 2, 1939Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1939 sess., 26, accessed August 1, 2023–January 4, 1943Democratic193830Earl WarrenJanuary 4, 1943Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1943 sess., 20, accessed August 1, 2023–October 4, 1953Republican19421946195031Goodwin KnightOctober 5, 1953–January 5, 1959Republican195432Pat BrownJanuary 5, 1959Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1959 sess., 18, accessed August 1, 2023–January 2, 1967Democratic1958196233Ronald ReaganJanuary 2, 1967–January 6, 1975Republican1966197034Jerry BrownJanuary 6, 1975Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1975 sess., 192, accessed August 1, 2023–January 3, 1983Democratic1974197835George DeukmejianJanuary 3, 1983–January 7, 1991Republican1982198636Pete WilsonJanuary 7, 1991–January 4, 1999Republican1990199437Gray DavisJanuary 4, 1999–November 17, 2003Democratic1998200238Arnold SchwarzeneggerNovember 17, 2003–January 3, 2011Republican2003200639Jerry BrownJanuary 3, 2011–January 7, 2019Democratic2010201440Gavin NewsomJanuary 7, 2019–IncumbentDemocratic201820212022

List of governors of California

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